Conflict Resolution

Conflict Resolution

Interpersonal conflicts are popular among students in the recent past.  The battle is as a result of diverse cultural and religious backgrounds whereby, Students do harm their colleagues to the extent of killing them, and Some do shoot at others, whereas some fight. Little is done to prevent such scenarios (Freire, 1984).  Raniya Write is a victim of the same. Her life ended shortly after a classroom fight. She only complained of headache, which led to unconsciousness. The school healthcare personnel rushed her to the hospital where she died. In some similar cases, students gunfire at their fellow students due to bullying. Bullying in schools must stop. It is upon the whole society to ensure the bullying issue is addressed in detail. For instance, teachers, students, parents, together with authority should ensure children are safe from bullying. The conflicts in schools are based on culture and religious differences (Morris, 2016) Restorative justice enforcement is essential in ensuring bullying stops in schools. This paper aims at evaluating the effectiveness of restorative justice on ascertaining deaths in schools.

Rinaya’s case

Raniya Wright, a grade five student in Forest Hills Elementary in Walterboro, California. Rinaya fought with a fellow student. After that, she complained of headache, which led her to be unconscious. She was taken to the hospital immediately. Upon reaching the hospital, Rinaya died. Rinaya parents were upset and wanted the school to be accountable for her death. However, the prosecutor of South California reported that Rinaya’s death was natural but not from the fight.  The prosecutor claimed the Rinaya had complained about headaches on the past few days. Another record revealed that Rinaya had medical checkups due to headaches for seven years. The family, represented by Rinaya’s Mother, claimed that their daughter was strong and had not complained of headaches whatsoever. She was an active girl. She also claimed that her daughter was not aggressive and could not initiate a fight because she was a church girl and well behaved.

The mother revealed that Rinaya used to complain of being bullied by a specific student every day. The mother informed the school about the Complaint, but no little was done. The school authority told the mother that no bullying was going on s school is just the Rinaya did not want to go to school. More so, before the fought, some students reported that Rinaya had taken the matter to the substitute teacher who never paid attention to her complain. Rinaya’s school still instated on justice. That is why it is upon everyone to ensure bullying in schools is addressed.

Since the report from the prosecutor, the school and the family contradict, there is a need for restorative justice. Restorative justice is a way of solving conflict by the use of dialogue between the offender and the victim. This model of practising righteousness involves a dialogue between the offender, the victim, and the community. For instance, in this case, Rinaya’s family, the offender, the school authority would assemble to amend the harm. Taking the case in court would be needless since the report of the prosecutor claim that the girl was vulnerable as she used to have frequent headaches which led to her death and not the fight. Since the offender is also a minor, restorative justice would be vital i preventing the juvenile from facing the law.

Restorative justice would lead to forgiveness, repentance, mercy, and reconciliation. The offender, in this case, ins the student who fought with Rinaya, the victim is Rinaya’s family, and the community is the school. Rinaya’s family seek answers from the school to the cause of Rinaya. Since the school denies the allegation that bullying led to Rinaya’s death and the family insist that the girl died due to bullying, restorative justice would help analyze the critical cause of Rinaya’s death. The medical report of the deceased would be examined by the offenders and the victims to be sure that Rinaya had no complications whatsoever that led to her death. The parents need to make it clear that their daughter had headache problemshttps://studygroom.com/multitasking-and-conflict-resolution/ or not. However, it can not be concluded that the end was as a result of the headaches but also the fight. The school, on the other hand, should admit that bullying was ongoing, but little was done about it. The substitute teacher is also said to have contributed to the death of Rinaya for not responding well when Rinaya reported to her about bullying. The school authority, the teacher and the student involved in the fight should seek forgiveness from Rinaya’s family instead of trying to justify the case. They need to be remorseful for having neglected the situation at hand.

The family might forgive the offender, hence reconciliation even if Rinaya had headache problems. It could be as a result of bullying. The fight also contributed to her death. Holding a grudge on the school will not bring Rinaya back to life. Thus her parents might forgive the school for their negligence. When the offender and the victim discuss the matter, they will conclude here, and a decision would be made.

To avoid the scenario, the following could have been considered. Rinaya’s death could have been avoided. The school authority could have taken the initiative to look into the bullying case in depth after Rinaya’s mother complained.they could have cautioned the student who bullied Rinaya. The supportive teacher, Whom Rinaya complained to could have acted immediately by trying to resolve the situation before the matter gt out of hand. The parents to Rinaya could have reported the issue on the solid bodies that deal with child welfare since the school seemed unmoved. They could have as well taken Rnaya to a new school with a safer environment.

Steps to be taken to be taken

Conflict resolution education would be essential in curbing violence in schools. It empowers the students with getting alternatives to violence and allows them to develop social competencies (Bordin & Crawford, 1998). All schools need to include conflict resolution principles and skills into education programs. Teachers need to teach their learners the steps to resolve conflict. The conflict solving lessons are essential as the learners would be able t sett,e any differences among them without a  teacher.  The teachers should not look at any cost neglect any cases of violence or bullying but instead, should respond with immediate effect. Failure to which could lead the learners to harm their fellow students.

Teachers should know how to solve the conflict among the students, the teachers should be equipped with skills necessary in resolving the disputes (Hooks, 198). They need to know how to calm down the students and create time with them for solving the conflict. They need to listen to the story from both sides before making any conclusions. If need be, parents should be involved in conflict resolution to be aware of what was going on. Above all, rules need to be set that restrict the students from fighting.

References

Bodine, R. J., & Crawford, D. K. (1998). The Handbook of Conflict Resolution Education. A Guide to Building Quality Programs in Schools. The Jossey-Bass Education Series. Jossey-Bass Inc., Publishers, 350 Sansome Street, San Francisco, CA 94104.

Freire, P. (1996). Pedagogy of the oppressed (revised). New York: Continuum.

Hooks, B. (1996). Teaching to transgress: Education as the practice of freedom. Journal of Leisure Research, 28(4), 316.

Morris, M. (2016). Pushout: The criminalization of Black girls in schools. New Press, The.